God loves a cheerful giver; in Christ, He transforms us into cheerful givers.

Believers, do you have marital, financial or other trouble? Are you sowing seed everywhere because you have been led to believe that God will not open doors for you unless you do so? Whatever your challenge is, understand that you cannot be an heir of the world (reign in life) according to the promise through human effort at giving or doing other righteous things. These things are works of the law and the promise that we will be heirs of the world is not to us through the law. According to Romans 4:13-

"For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." Galatians 3:29 says "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise."

You are not an heir of the world when you are always flat on your back (sick,) bogged down in debt, depressed, stingy, oppressed by demons, have no peace of mind and are living in sin - these are all things that Christ came to save us from. If your solution to all of these things is to do things like promise God that you will do your best to keep the Ten Commandments, do good things, show Him that you are serious by doing a 10-hour vigil or try to sow seed in order to get into His good books/get Him to bless you, this is the result:

"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace." Galatians 5:4

The result of keeping the law to get right with God is being cut off from Christ (so no salvation from the very things that such were trying to save themselves from to begin with) and more sin. 1 Corinthians 15:56 says "The strength of sin is the law...." Romans 6:14 says "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." The more one tries to keep the law to get right with God, the more the power of sin (acts of sin, sickness, debt and everything else that is as a result of Adam's fall) over that one.

Just to be clear, anything that one does to add to what Christ has done to make us heirs of the world is works of the law. But the promise is not through the law but through the righteousness of faith: believing that we are made righteous by "one Man's obedience" (Romans 5:19) and not because of our moral standards or ability to keep the law.

Believer in Christ, this is why we are rich: 2 Corinthians 8:9- "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich."

Paul shows us how we are able to be cheerful givers too when he made reference to the churches in Macedonia who, though desperately poor, were incredibly happy and gave far more than they could afford because of the generous ways in which God was working among them. (2 Corinthians 8:1-4.) Check out what he said of these churches in verses 5-7 (MSG)

"This was totally spontaneous, entirely their own idea, and caught us completely off guard. What explains it was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God and to us. The other giving simply flowed out of the purposes of God working in their lives."

When the believing is right, right living will follow. In Christ, we are accepted in the Beloved and not because of what we do or don't do. Having a "do good, get good; do bad, get bad" mentality about God is to be under law and this kind of reasoning is why many in the church are not heirs of the promise.

With Christ, we don't give to get; we get to give. By His grace, see His word through the lens of grace, "for you are not under law but under grace." Every command in God's word is fulfilled in us through Christ. Right believing (faith in Christ) ALWAYS produces right living (faith works.) And the whole world will see it through the faith works that He does through you.

Remember Psalms 23? Can the sheep shear itself or do anything at all in order to receive care from the Shepherd? By God's grace, see Christ as your Shepherd and yourself as a helpless sheep whose human effort at doing right, even sowing seed, amounts to filthy rags. He will fill you to overflowing, "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him." Philippians 2:13. 

Believers in Christ, the Lord is our Shepherd. When we, by His grace, rest in Him like sheep do and stop our silly efforts to save ourselves, we will not lack.

The Holy Spirit will teach you all things.

Believe Right and you will Live Right.